Wooo. Happy July everyone. ;D I can't believe my summer's half over...I'm gonna cry...

So! –claps hands together- This fic is getting rather weird, eh? THINGS are happening...that involve STUFF. That's right. STUFF.

Meh, forgive me, I'm feeling weirder than normal, and in approximately five minutes it won't officially be Friday, which means I'll be late on my update...meh heh. –cough- But if I don't go to bed soon, I won't be up in time to get ready for my riding lesson and tape Danny Phantom since it's the only episode I need to have them allllll...hmm, and I still need to clean the mess of colored pencils and pastels on the floor of my room...waaaah.

Yeah, yeah, you're probably all yawning in boredom. So...here are the THINGS that involve STUFF! BWAHAHAHA!

Chapter Forty-One

'Mrahot sehsiwylno ehrof rematn ogarda tonsi retnuheht.'

Steve and Ivy looked up at me and finally stood up in shock. I could hardly believe it myself—but here I was, chanting the Dragon language like I did every day. Mom was out on the field, about to fall over on Blaze.

But thanks to my song, the explosion had died down. Not that it mattered since everyone was practically already out of the stadium, but hey, it's the thought that counts.

Darrell slowly turned towards me, his hair flopping in front of his face as he gave me a cynical grin, which of course threw me off. Darrell never grins. Ever. He's just not the grinning type.

"Who are you?!" I screamed at him, ready to lunge myself and attack him or something, but Steve and Ivy grabbed my arms and pulled me back.

"Lindsey, calm down!" Ivy hissed, sounding a bit panicky.

"NO!" I continued to scream, thrashing to get out of their grip. "YOU'RE NOT DARRELL! YOU'RE NOT!"

The Darrell I knew would never give me a look like that. He would never use a melody I assumed only I could understand to cause harm. He would never pierce my heart as it felt like he just did.

I stopped struggling and sank to my knees, falling out of Ivy and Steve's hold. "Who...who are you?" I whispered as Darrell walked past me and out of the whole arena without another word or glance.

After a whole minute of silence, I finally came to my senses. Darrell was gone, he had spoken the Dragon language, and the Den was unlocked. You do the math.

I stood up and ran to the bottom of the seating area, Steve and Ivy flying behind me all confused.

"Mom!" I yelled. "Are you okay? Where's Dad?"

"We're fine..." Mom answered, but her voice was trembling. "What just...?"

Her face was going pale, and I knew she was in shock. I hated to shock her even more—aw hell, there was a chance she wouldn't know what I was going to be talking about next anyway.

"Mom," I said in the calmest voice I could manage as Dad came running out towards Mom. "Darrell opened the Dragon Den."

Luckily Dad was there, or Mom really would've fallen off of Blaze, who was sidestepping lightly. "What?" she whispered under Ivy and Steve's gasps.

"He opened it?!" Steve growled. "Oh what, you give that key to him or something?"

"Shut up!" I yelled back. "Of course not! God, you can be so stupid sometimes!"

"Not really! You're the one who told me to give him another chance—and well, look now! He's opened the Den, Lindsey! A Hunter opened the Den! Any more chances you want to take?!"

He had a point, but I wasn't going to let him know that. "Well, apparently I can't, since he left," was all I could mutter in reply. I turned back to Mom. "Mom, we have to get to this Den! Darrell's going to..." I trailed off, not knowing exactly what Darrell was planning, but given his history and how crazy he'd been acting, I knew it wasn't something good.

Mom's eyes widened. "The Den? How do you...how do you all know about the Den?"

My own eyes got big. "You know about it?" She nodded slightly. "Well we have to get there! NOW!"

"Go get Joker," Dad ordered, and flung himself behind the saddle on Blaze, who jumped and snorted slightly. "You three get there fast." He kicked Blaze in the sides, and they galloped out of the arena.

I turned to my slightly stunned friends. "You heard him! Follow me!"

What seemed like seconds later Steve, Ivy, and I were galloping bareback on Joker, following the flame that was Blaze. Luckily Joker had sensed this was important and let the three of us ride him without resistance. Unluckily, Steve ended up behind me and was clutching my waist unnecessarily tight. But of course, that could've been because he was scared to death because he was muttering curses he thought I couldn't hear into my hair.

Kitsune was also coming along, simply so he could get Ivy and Steve into the Den. He was on my shoulder, his claws digging into my black shirt. I ignored that for the time being and concentrated guiding Joker through the forest.

We finally arrived at the lake, and Joker skidded to keep from falling in, causing the three of us to topple off of him. He snorted an apology, his eyes darting around like he knew something was fishy.

Mom and Dad had dismounted Blaze, who was huffing and puffing with patches of sweat appearing on him. Mom was staring out into the lake like she wanted to run away, but at the same time like she never wanted to leave.

"Mom..." she whispered.

April? What did she have to do with this? I pushed the thought out of my brain, letting Steve help me up.

"Mom? Do you know about this place?" I asked.

She blinked, as if snapping out of a trance, and Dad put a hand on her shoulder, which she shrugged off. "Yes," she replied quietly. "Do you?"

I nodded, my mouth hanging open. "I...Steve, Ivy, and I came here awhile ago...we found out about it when..."

Kitsune suddenly hissed, telling us to hurry up already. I shut my mouth for a second, but immediately spoke again: "Mom, you'd be able to breathe underwater, right?" After all, she knew about the Dragonair piercing my heart so long ago in Hoenn.

To my surprise, she shook her head and started unbuttoning her show jacket. "No, I wasn't...as blessed as that..." She was practically growling. "But I had better things to do than stay with a bunch of---"

Kit hissed again, louder this time. "Fine!" I cried. "We have to go down there, now!" Without another moment of hesitation, I dove into the lake, not knowing exactly what I was getting myself into.

A minute later, I saw a flash behind me and saw Kit had the bubble thing around Mom, Dad, Steve, and Ivy. I continued to swim towards the door at the lake bottom, and like I had thought, it was unlocked. I gripped the key around my neck anyway and pulled the door open with one hand, hearing a half-cry from Mom behind me.

Just like before, we were all completely dry when we got out from the little waterslide. I stood up, gaining a feeling of serenity around me just looking around the Den...like I was home. I rolled my eyes. Home? What was I talking about? I didn't even know about this place until a little while ago.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard what sounded like a door slamming. My head snapped up and I saw a black figure walking out of the little bedroom door thingy.

"Well, well, well," the figure chuckled in a voice I instantly recognized. "They better find a better hiding place for their precious Dragons, now, shouldn't they?"

"Darrell?" my voice echoed through the Den.

Whoever it was stepped halfway into a somewhat lit section, half hidden by shadow. "Lindsey Tamer..." came a reply in a half chuckle. "I thought I might find you here."

I held back a gasp. The voice was Darrell's--but it wasn't him at all. I turned back to everyone behind me to see their reactions. Mom was chalk white, Dad was clenching his fists like he wanted to punch this guy in the nose, and Steve and Ivy just looked confused—with a dash of 'pissed off' from Steve.

I looked back at this person, and took a step towards him. Mom let out a strangled cry, but I continued on.

"Who are you?!" I demanded to know, my steps getting faster and my heart pounding. Without knowing myself, I ran towards him and launched myself like I was doing a Take Down—but I went right through him. Literally. I smashed into the crystal wall, knowing I would have a bruise on that shoulder tomorrow.

"What the...?" I muttered.

The dude laughed evilly. "Your dear little Hunter is in that room, with your precious little Dragons." He jutted a thumb behind his shoulder towards the bedroom door, and at the angle I was in, I could see that he was, well—there was no better word for it---transparent.

"You go on," he continued. "I'd like to have a little chat with...all of them."

I wanted to stick around and ask just what did this guy think he was doing, but I was too worried about Darrell—the tone of voice suggested something horrible. I inwardly growled and dashed off into the bedroom without glancing behind me.

I gasped at the sight that I saw when I slammed the door behind me. Darrell, the indestructible man in black, was laying in a heap, mostly on the floor, with his head half-slumped on the bed.

I immediately rushed over to him and slapped his arm. "Darrell!" I cried, a note of panic in my voice. "Darrell! Wake up! Arrguh...I'm going to kill you if you're not alive." I ignored the irony of my comment put my head on his chest to make sure, and was filled with terror for a second as I heard nothing—but slowly, it came.

My head collapsed to his lap in relief, and I grabbed his hand, which was colder than usual. "Darrell..." I muttered. "Wake up, you loser."

"Mmmph..."

My head shot up. I released his hand and shook his shoulders. "Darrell! It's me, Lindsey! Wake up!"

He made a few more weird noises before groggily opening his dark brown eyes. "Lindsey?" he mumbled.

"Yeah." I held back a smile, just so he could see how angry I was. "What are you doing here? Why'd you blow up half the stadium back at the show?! How the hell do you know how to speak Dragon language?!? How the heck do you even know about this place?!?!?"

Apparently I was madder than I thought.

Darrell closed one eye, like he was in thought. "I...don't know. W...where am I n...now that you mention it?"

I stood up. "Huh?"

He shakily used the bed to hold himself up until he stood somewhat steady. "I'm seriously saying that I...I don't know where I am. You obviously know." He eyeballed me, and I raised my eyebrows. That's such a Steve thing to do. Psssh.

"Darrell, we're—" I began, until a scream from 'outside' interrupted me. I jumped and ran for the door, tugging at the doorknob—but nothing happening.

"We're locked in!" I cried, jiggling the stupid piece of metal. After a second I gave up and banged my fist against the old wood. "Damnit..."

"Hold on," Darrell said, standing in front of the door. "Move," he commanded, and I stepped aside. He lifted a leg and with one smash, broke through the door.

I stood there for a second after he jumped through the hole in the door. Ha! Now Steve can't say Darrell isn't good for anything!

I followed him through the door---or lack thereof---and stifled a scream at the scene that I saw.

Dad was slumped against a wall with his eyes closed, blood trickling from a wound on his head. The see-through dude was holding Mom's wrists behind her, like he was a police officer arresting someone. Ivy and Steve were holding their arms in the air, surrounded by some sort of purplish aura. The three of them had looks of excruciating pain on their faces.

I started to make a run for them, but Darrell put an arm out to stop me. I looked up at him in surprise, and to my greater shock, his eyes were wide, staring out at the translucent guy. Geez. What the heck was wrong with him lately?

I soon found out. "You," he said quietly, yet it still echoed in the crystal cave.

The ugly guy looked up, releasing Mom's wrists, causing her to collapse. I resisted running out towards her.

"Well, well, well," he sneered, floating towards us. "If it isn't my little puppet."

Darrell narrowed his eyes. "I did leave the line, Anthony. I was hoping to plan a new life away from them...with Lindsey." He was sounding less monotone than usual, but to my even greater surprise, Darrell wound his arm around me and yanked me towards him.

"Uh...yeah!" I squeaked, stunned by his sudden display of...romance. "What he said." I suddenly raised my eyebrows. Wait a sec, did Darrell just call that guy Anthony?!

A shiver ran down my spine, and Anthony smirked, his Swinub-like nostrils flaring. "Oh, finally figured out who I am?"

"Not really," I admitted, putting some distance between Darrell and I. "Mind telling me about it?"

"Oh, a little smart ass we have for this generation's Tamer," he continued to smirk. "You do seem so much more exciting than the last two. Of course, that was all written before even I came into power..."

"That's doesn't tell me who you are," I protested, trying to buy some time. I need to get out of here, and somehow get everyone but Anthony out with me...and then never come back here so he could back to haunting this place, or whatever the heck he was doing down here.

He pretended to look concerned. "Oh, well, I am so sorry for that...I guess Mommy Tamer doesn't like to explain things, now, does she?"

"What the..." I muttered. "Who the hell are you?! No way you're a ghost...they only exist as Pokemon!" Anthony's sneer continued to widen. "But...you're not human! I can go right through you!" I jammed my fist into his horrible-looking head to prove my point. The seconds ticked by, and for some reason, I began to feel cold. My legs trembled and threatened to give away. I somehow knew it was because my arm was through him, but I couldn't pull it out.

I felt strong hands—Darrell's hands—on my shoulders as he yanked me away. My numb arm hung limply at my side until it began to flow with my own blood again.

"Or maybe your darling little Hunter didn't want to tell you about me?" Anthony snickered. "Oh wait, that's right—I didn't make him."

I looked up at Darrell, but directed my question towards Anthony. "What do you mean...you didn't make him?"

"Exactly as I stated. There are certain things I can make a Hunter do...and others he simply does on his own." He gave an wicked grin.

My face heated—how the heck did this guy know anything about that?! I instinctively wanted to gather more information, but a painful need to rescue my friends and family had risen, and really, I just wanted out.

"That's very interesting and all, but I have some business to attend to---see ya, loser!" I literally ran through Anthony, sticking my tongue out at him and making an 'L' on my forehead. I dashed over to Steve and Ivy, and I knew that I didn't really want to be touching that aura surrounding them—so a calm, yet powerful melody spilled from my lips and heart before I could stop it:

"Wonemt cetorp rewopn ogard!"

"NO!" Someone yelled behind me, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to get my friends out of this mess I had dragged them into. I knew that because of my song, the purplish air around them wouldn't harm me—how I knew, I had no clue whatsoever, but the important thing was now that I could save them. I stepped in right next to them, seeing how the pained looks had left their faces and was replaced with drooped eyelids that held a sleep full of nightmares.

I winced and stood in between them, grabbing one each of their upper arms and making a run for it. Luckily, they seemed to realize they were out of whatever spell they were under, and instantly woke up before I could fall down under their weight.

Well, before Ivy and I could fall down, anyway. Steve the Super Klutz fell flat on his face, getting a nervous giggle out of me.

"What's going on?" Ivy anxiously whispered to me, eyeing Darrell and Anthony, who was looking really, really pissed. Darrell just looked confused, a first for him.

"Oh, I so did think I had gotten ridden of you nuisances!" Anthony bellowed, staring straight at Ivy, the face-fallen Steve, and I. I assumed he was talking about Ivy and Steve, because he didn't seem to want to get rid of me...yet.

Then suddenly, the world spun in a split second. Ivy latched onto my arm, expecting to die while Anthony shot a big cackling ball of some kind of energy—like he was a Pokemon using Shadow Ball or something—and Steve shot up, grabbed my upper arms, and crashed his mouth on mine.

I heard Ivy make a sound of disgust/astonishment—I was just freaking out. What the hell was he doing?! And it wasn't like I could push him away since he was holding my arms so tight, I'd probably have bruises there the next day, and Ivy was still on my other arm, just as shocked as I was.

Okay. So giant Shadow Ball attack was heading straight for us, most likely intending to kill, or at least knock us out. Did we run away? Noooo, of course not. When faced with disaster, Steve goes and kisses me. With Darrell just feet away, nonetheless!

My eyes were wide open—Steve's were closed; he was obviously enjoying himself, that pig—and to my shock, when the attack reached us, it simply went around us and dissolved like we had an invisible shield protecting us.

Ivy squeaked in surprise, and Steve finally stopped kissing me, but he still held my arms. "Sorry," he said in shock, looking around him. "But...the first thing that popped into my head was from that book...remember? Also, in which, if the Evil Power attempts to attack, only an action of true love to the Tamer can bring it to a halt and further the destruction of the set misery."

I blinked, shocked that he actually remembered something like that, and that he would actually have the nerve to do it. Ivy finally let go of my arm, and I took the opportunity to push Steve away a little.

"So it's true?" I whispered slowly. "Everything...in there..."

"Yes," came a sneery voice, and I shot my head up, narrowing my eyes. Anthony, somehow, had grabbed Darrell and was holding his wrists the same way he had held Mom's. I resisted the urge to run to him as the Evil Power kept speaking:

"I'll tell you everything, little Tamer, everything you want to know..." he said, a coy smile on his face. "That is, after you make your choice."

My voice quivered. "W...what choice?"

"Who you want to die—this puppet here, or your little friends."

Oooo, and here's where the 'Drama' part of the genre of this story finally kicks in. XD I crack myself up, but unfortunately, not many others. Poor me. –dies-

Review replies! I love you all! –hugs all reviewers and readers-

Karania-- -continues- Ha, I never get tired of that. XD Man I need some sugar.

Adriel—Me, DESCRIBE things? HAHAHA! Man you're funny. ;) Well just because you won't be back until next Sunday doesn't mean you still can't review this...I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE...ehh...well, not really...-.-;;

Rose—Aww. –squeals- I need to find a guy in a trenchcoat that likes to hug. Wheee!
AHHHHH If you haven't by now, you MUST read volume four!!! EE EEE That is my FAVORITEST volume! And yes, it's so awesome I made up a word! XD Once you read it, you must read da fic. –wink wink-
And...uh...-poof- Why lookie there! It magically locked itself when they left the lake! –cough- Yes, let's just say that. ;)

Harunohi—Hehe, tis okay, as long as I know you're reading. ;D Four hour car ride? O.o I'd go crazier than I even am! -.- Haha. Umm...yes. –hands you more pie-

Hakura—And at the Den they are. About time, right? ;D Hmmm...must've been Darrell's 'good' side that let Diana finish the course before he blew up the stadium. XD "Jump...jump...KABOOM!" Or something like that. –fills your brain with pie-

Robin Ryan-- -Shhhhhhhhhhhh- Nobody told you! I DIDN'T SAY A WORD! I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! –falls over- Hey, that's the first time I've fallen over this whole chapter! Yeehaw! XD Well, this fic is weird. Like me. But you should know that by now. ;D

Zero Chan—Bwahaha...we shall see who is right in the end...the awesome Zero Chan or the mighty Lurk...who will be right about Darrell in this thickness of a plot?! Hmm hmm...-cough- And it's so silly indeed. XD Psssh, evil force, I have no idea what you're talking about...huh? That stuff in the chapter you just read? Uhm...heh heh. Wow, I'm even confuzzling myself. XD

Glad you had fun in Hawaii! ;D Haha, I know how you feel, when I go to Orlando next weekend, I'm going to miss the fics...three days and no computer! –cries-

Opaltiger—Like explosions, eh? ;D No, that pie isn't exploding pie...I have no clue what you're talking about...meh heh heh. –cough-

WHEEE! I wuff you all. I really do, and I would do a little underscore smiley if this site would allow me, so here's a traditional smiley: J

NEWS: Next weekend, I'm off to Orlando for THREE WHOLE DAYS. AHHH! CRAZY! But yes, rock on free hotel rooms XD So anyway...we're leaving BEYOND early on a Friday so we can make it there before someone steals our room or something (in my dad's eyes anyway...) so I don't know if there will be an update next week. I might actually be super-duper nice and get up even earlier than I have to just so I can update. Or hack into the computers in the lobby. They'll never know. ;D

So yes...check on Friday to see if I was feeling nice that day, and pray to the mighty Disney gods that Mickey Mouse doesn't eat me alive. X.x

Hehehe...you do know there's a better chance I'll be feeling nice so early next (this...) Friday if you...review!

Yeah, you knew I was going to say that, weren't you. ;D So I'll...say it again! Review!!!

Bwahaha...I never get tired of that. XD